Eight days after historic rainfall flooded communities across the Treasure Coast, standing water remained on Hyline Drive in Jensen Beach. Homeowners estimated that water reached as high as five feet in some areas; some residents fear the flooding could last for months, and county officials told them they did not know when it would recede.
Floodwater has made some homes difficult to reach: neighbors have used concrete cinder blocks to step across the water to their front doors, CBS12 reported. Many homes in the neighborhood rely on septic systems, and residents told the station they believe sewage has mixed with the standing water. Some homes have water three to four feet deep, while other residents have lost everything inside.
Guidance for septic-system owners
For homeowners whose drainfields are inundated, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency advises not using a septic system until water in the soil absorption field is lower than the water level around the house. The Florida Department of Health also advises against pumping a septic tank when the water table is exceptionally high, because the surrounding area could cave into a tank pumped dry.
Todd Doss, a neighborhood resident for more than two decades, has kept water out of his house, though it has entered his Florida room and spilled into his pool. He described the water as dirty and said it smelled bad. Doss said the conditions had been uncomfortable but manageable, like camping. Other families, however, have been unable to move their cars, shower or flush their toilets.
No Clear Timeline for Relief
At a Sunday flood-relief meeting with county leaders, residents were told officials did not know when the water would recede, CBS12 reported. Doss said the water began draining after the rain stopped, then rose again the next morning. He said another heavy rain would flood the neighborhood again.
The drainage limits were evident earlier in the event. WPTV reported that dozens of homes were underwater after saturated ground and an overwhelmed drainage system left the neighborhood flooded. Five days after the rain, WPBF reported that Hyline Drive was accessible only by boat or kayak and that floodwater had entered most homes along the road.
Years of Warnings About Drainage
Neighbor Mike Bresette said the neighborhood had flooded before and that drainage improvements should have been made years ago. He told CBS12 that residents had been waiting for infrastructure changes since 2011 and that he heard no information about long-term fixes at Sunday's meeting.
The neighborhood is not located in a designated flood zone, meaning many homeowners do not carry flood insurance, as noted by CBS12. FEMA's Flood Map Service Center notes that most standard homeowners insurance does not cover flood damage and that flood insurance can be worth having whether or not a home sits in a high-risk zone, though that general guidance doesn't speak to any individual Hyline Drive policy.
Waiting on a Federal Declaration
Florida has declared a state of emergency that includes Martin County, and homeowners are hoping the governor will request a federal disaster declaration that could open the door to FEMA assistance. For now, that remains a hope rather than a certainty, with no confirmed timeline for when, or whether, federal aid might arrive.
The scale of the rainfall behind the disaster has been staggering. The National Weather Service classified the Nov. 1-3 rain event across the Treasure Coast as a 100- to 200-year event, as reported by TCPalm. Port St. Lucie saw the heaviest totals on the Treasure Coast, with 16.7 inches falling during the 60-hour stretch from midnight Nov. 1 through noon Nov. 3, while a gauge just a mile north of Jensen Beach's city limits recorded 8.05 inches in that same window.
Two Treasure Coast locations broke daily rainfall records on Nov. 2, with I-95 in Indian River County logging 13 inches and Port St. Lucie recording about 12 inches, the outlet's reporting shows. The National Weather Service separately reported roughly 8 inches of rain fell in Martin County that same day. School districts in Indian River, St. Lucie and Martin counties all closed classrooms that Tuesday as the storm overwhelmed the region.
For families like Doss's, who are riding out the flood alongside two dogs, a cat, and a pet tortoise named Walter, the wait for answers continues with no end in sight. Until county leaders or state officials offer a firmer timeline, residents along Hyline Drive say they're left bracing for whatever comes next, one soggy day at a time.
